Rate of Diminishing Returns

Posted on May 19, 2020

Written by Marianna Faynshteyn

Rate of diminishing returnsWe’ve hit a wall: what worked for us isn’t working for usA trend is sailing across the x-axis, on a relentless tide that won’t recede no matter how many moonsLabel the y trouble, name the graph current stateIndirect relationship: profit margin and overhead, money and sympathyHave your childrenBut what will your children have?Desperate women carrying babies stand at the entryways of countries they can’t pronounceWhile tired VPs carrying targets stand before rows of people whose gaze they can’t meetThe parents before us belabor the importance of the things that have become invisible to themWhile the parents ahead of us labor the pain of the invisible things that have grown inside of themWhat are your pain points your must havesShe points to her pain and doctor says you must haveMade this up, done this to yourselfUntil he opens her up and sees scars that scrape from inside her, tissue too torn to piece togetherNothing is something until it is named and nothing is still nothing until it happens to menWe’re all so tired but we can’t sleepI set my alarm, make myself promise to bypass the snoozeMeeting starts at 9 must make the minutes in the morning countI hear The Second Coming as I close my eyes“Things fall apart”“Things fall apart”

Marianna was born in Ukraine, raised in New York and has lived in Amsterdam for 5 years. She likes sad music and has strong opinions.

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